Last week’s cold snap sent many people in the Glen Ridge area to the hospital.

Dr. Marjory Langer, the head of the emergency department at HackensackUMC Mountainside, reported on Friday that the hospital saw a large number of patients with illnesses and injuries related to the cold weather, from broken bones to hypothermia.

On Jan. 5, one day before the temperatures fell, Langer reported that the hospital saw a 30 percent rise in orthopedic injuries – broken wrists, ankles and so forth – resulting from slips and falls on the ice. She noted that the injuries were across the board, affecting young people as well as older.

The number of injuries was such that several area hospitals had to go on divert, she said, but Mountainside was able to continue accepting patients by re-assigning staff to different departments.

Joseph McHale, a crew chief for the Glen Ridge Volunteer Ambulance Squad, also reported that the GRVAS saw a lot of slips and falls, including among younger patients. In several cases, he said, the patient didn’t start feeling pain until after the initial fall: "We’ve had calls where…the person fell the previous day on the ice."

With falls on the ice, he added, there is a high risk of head injuries as well as wrist and hip injuries.

Last week’s cold weather was due to a polar vortex, a trough of arctic air that circulated down over much of the United States and Canada.

In the tri-state area, temperatures plunged into the single digits during the night on Jan. 6 and 7, with wind chill factors well into the negatives. The temperatures were widely reported to have been the coldest that the region has experienced in at least 20 years.

Health authorities issued warnings about frostbite and hypothermia in the days leading up to the cold snap. The hospital did see several cases, Langer said, particularly among elderly patients and the homeless.

McHale said that the GRVAS has to be concerned about homeless people in the area whenever the temperatures drop. "It was terribly cold last week, so we’re all on standby for that," he said. The police department has likewise been on the alert for those situations, he said.

When the squad gets a call about a homeless person in danger from the cold, the squad responds as quickly as possible, gets the person into the ambulance to warm them up, and takes them to the nearest shelter or hospital.

There also tends to be more cardiac cases whenever there are extreme weather conditions, Langer said. In the winter, she said, activities such as shoveling snow can be especially hazardous for people who are not in good physical shape.

There are also situations where a person has trouble breathing, McHale said, such as when the person has the heat turned up too high in their home, or if they’re outside in the cold. Cases such as that can lead to cardiac problems, he said.

The temperatures were expected to moderate this week, with the average daytime temperature being between 30 and 50 degrees for much of this week.

In addition to the cold-related injuries, Langer said, Mountainside has seen an increase in the number of flu patients in recent weeks.

According to the CDC, January and February tend to be the peak periods for flu activity, although the timing of the flu can vary from year to year. As of Jan. 4, the CDC reported that the flu was widespread throughout most of the country, with New Jersey being listed as seeing regional outbreaks of the flu.

Cold weather tips

Keep temperatures in your house no lower than 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Keep warm clothing (hats, gloves, socks and boots) at work and in your car.